Parkour, the way forward for membership sport?

 

The sport in the UK is administered by Parkour UK which is responsible for its administration, development and promotion and it became a member of the Sport and Recreation Alliance within our Games and Sports Division in 2010. Fuelled by enthusiastic practitioners and the support of Hollywood (such as scenes in the Bond movie Casino Royale), it has become one of the fastest growing activities in the UK.

 

The class I attended was held in a small hall at a sports centre in North West London. When we arrived we joined the group of people waiting for the class to start and they were discussing whether you could truly compete in parkour. I listened as a class participant quizzed one of the instructors about his views on the subject. I heard that the activity I was about to undertake was based on self-discipline, autonomous action and self-will. For the instructor it wasn’t about competing. He explained that it was about taking part, training the body and improving your own ability. As a competitive person with a background in a sport that is focussed on winning, I was intrigued about how this approach would satisfy. My scepticism soon disappeared.

 

When we started the class the hall was packed with around 40 people and the instructor seemed to spend the first part of the session turning late-comers away as there was simply no more space. The session lasted 2 ½ hours and comprised a thorough warm up, circuits of different exercises, an abs work out (which worked my stomach harder than I have ever done before) and a Q&A session to finish. Here people satisfied their curiosity by quizzing the instructors on exercises, techniques and the history of parkour.  

 

During the class I experienced a roller-coaster of emotions ranging from terrified to excited and by the end of the session I experienced the feeling only exercise can give you. A satisfying tiredness borne out of physical achievement.

 

Two days later my body is aching, but in a good way and I’m already looking forward to next time. Reflecting on the experience, what was immediately apparent was the real a mix of people from all ages and backgrounds and of differing ability. Some people flew over bars and ran off the walls, whilst others simply clambered (or in my case performed the ‘sliding monkey’ or the ‘tick-tack’) over them. The real attraction and what perhaps makes parkour infectious is the fact it is open to all and you don’t need to own any equipment to participate. It helps train your body to be functional and the movements require a range of skills, from balance and dynamism to endurance and spatial awareness.

 

So is the parkour model the future for sport and membership organisations? As society becomes increasingly fast-paced and leisure time ever more precious, activities which are open to all, can be undertaken anywhere and don’t require expensive equipment will surely proliferate. Parkour seems to be ahead of the curve when it comes to these characteristics. Perhaps you should give it a go.

 

You can find out more about parkour by visiting the Parkour UK website. Additionally, if you’d like to watch parkour in action check out the Parkour UK endorsed documentary Jump Westminster. 

 

 

 

 

 

Joy Tottman

Compliance Officer at the Sport and Recreation Alliance

 

Image of parkour reproduced with permission of Parkour UK